Gas-lighting device.



C. F. MASON.- GAS LIGHTING DEVIGB.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 7, 1910.

l 9 l 27,476 Patented Feb. 9, 1915.

YHE NURRIS PETERS C0.. FHDTO-LITHD.. WASHINDTON. D. C.

C. P. MASON.

GAS LIGHTING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY?, 1910.

Patented Feb. 9, 19,15.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

eelmsmmf l @Mlm/'e 'fHE MORRIS PETERS C0.4 PHoTc-L/THD.. WASHINGTON, D. C.

iinir eine CHARLES F. MASON', 0F CORTLAND, NEVI YORK.

GAS-LIGHTING DEVICE.

nieuwe,

I Specicaton of Letters (Patent.

Patented Feb. 9, i915.

Application rled'll'l'ay 7, 1910.'y Serial No. 559,902.

T0 all wlw/m it may concern.'

Be it known that l, CHARLES F. MASON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Cortland, Cortland county, @tate of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gras-'Lighting Devices, of which the following is specification.

rlhis invention relatesto gas lighting devices with particular reference to systems in which the lighting or extinguishing of a number of lamps may be controlled from a single remote pointas, for example, the supply station.

ln a former patent to me, No. 733,667, iuly ll, 1908, there is disclosed an automatic gas lighting devicelocated between a gas burner and the supplypipe therefor and operable by the passage of gasthrough said device to the burner, the lighting being effected by merely turning ,on the `pressure and extinguished by shutting ofi' Athe same. (lbviously lamps such' as described inA said patent may be controlled individually by providing each with a separate cock, but inasmuch as one of the purposes of the invention is to save the expense of attendants, they are preferably controlled collectively by opening and closing a single valve located at the central. or vsupply station,fwith the result that the entire system of lamps will be caused to burn at the saine time and be extinguished at the same time; and no variation of, this condition may be had without the use of separate mains.

krThe object of the present invention is to provide a simple and efficient `mechanism whereby special lamps designed to'be controlled from a central station so as to be lighted and extinguished Iat `regular predetermined intervals, such las street lamps, y

'and yother lamps not'designedy to be s'ofcon- "trolled such as those used in private houses,

may e fed from a common main carrying Va continuous supplyof gas. This and other objects of the invention will" in part be obvious and in part Jxplained in thejfollowing description. The invention consists in the novel improvements, partsfand combinations ofpartsherein shown'anddescribed. ln the accompanying' drawings,`\ which form a part ofthis specification, is illus` tra ted one embodiment "of the invention,f the `,san'ie serving` to exemplify the/'principles llllorf." y H i if, y

y threaded cap '12. Y to yandextends well within bell 5. lt is' open'V fat its flower end yand surrounds apipe 14 f whose Of the drawings: Figure l is a centralr vertical sectional view of a device embodying ymy invention, and showing the partsin the position they assume before lighting;

"F ig. 2 is a similar view showing the parts inthe position they assume while gas is f.

burning; Fig. 3 is a detail showing a modification; Fig. l is an elevation on an enlarged scale of the electric sparking inechanisin; and Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a detail.

ln. the illustrated embodiment there isU combined a burner, an automatic igniting mechanism and novel means which operates upon a temporary rise in pressure to effect the lighting lof the gas, and on a ltemporary drop in pressure to extinguish the same, and

which, moreover, shall be responsive to such slight variations above or below the normal workingpressure as not to materially aiect the operativeness of other burners suppliedland ya vertically disposed seal-tube 7, bot-h extending exteriorly -as well as interiorly 4of said bell, `the former projecting loosely through'an opening 2a in the upper cap, and carrying a gas burner 8 and an igniter y9 `(described in detail hereinafter) andthe seal-tube 7 extending into a guiding tube or sleeve l0. lThe tube'?v is' closed at its top,i andthe sleeve l0 is preferably covered by gauze to'keep out dirt. 7

A .Theburner-tube 6 which is open at its Vbottom land preferably is further provided with thelateral opening 6', is fixed to project well within bell 5 and surrounds a sinaller'tube or pipe 1l leading to the outsidefof vrtank l where it is provided 'with a Sealtube 7 is also fixed whose upper open end terminates just below fthey *closed -iup eij end of ytube f?.l and flowerf end communicates with supply pipe 4l. Tube 7 which terminates at a point below the lower end of tube 6, preferably is also provided with an auxiliary iateral opening 7 15 represents a body of liquid contained within tank 1, which may be supplied to said tank through tube or sleeve`10. In filling thev tank, cap 12 is removed and liquid admitted until it begins to flow out of pipe 11 when the cap 12 may be replaced; the overflow indicating that a proper working level has been reached within the tank. The working level of the liquid therefore is determined by the height of pipe 11 which may be increased or diminished to suit varying conditions.

Referring to Fig. 1, it will be observed that the liquid level is the same in tank 1 and burner-tube 6 since both of these parts are open to the atmosphere; they former through sleeve 10 and the latter through the valveless burner 8. rlhe level in bell 5, however, is lower because of confined air or gas in the closed upper part of said bell, while the level in seal-tube 7 is still lower, because of the pressure of gas therein, said tube, as before, explained, -being in free communication with the gas main through pipe 14.' The normal working pressure of the gas, however, is insuflicient to force the liquid in tube 7 as far down as opening 7, andinasmuch as said opening 7 as well as the opening G in the burner tube is covered by the body of liquid in bell 5, the gas is effectually cut off from the burner.

To operate the lamp it is necessary to effect a temporary increase of pressure in the main, and this may be done by any preferred means; but since this forms no part of the present invention, no illustration or detailed description thereof is deemed necessary.

Pressure in the main being increased, the liquid in tube 7 will be forced below opening 7 permitting the gas to escape through IthJ1 body of the liquid to upper part of the `e carrying the burner-tube and the sealtube i with it. When the opening 6 rises above the level of the liquid within thev bell, the seal will be broken and the liquid contained within tube 6 will escape, `permitting a restricted flow of gas to pass into said tube Vist and drive out the air therein throughthe burner. Further movement of the bell will cause the ends of' both tubesl 6 and 7 to be completely uncovered as shown in Fig. 2, permitting a free and unrestricted flowl of gas from one tube to the other.

The upward movement of the bell is Vutilized to operate the igniter which, as hereinbefore mentioned,`is mounted on the outer upper end of tube 6, and is so designed that its .action will be delayed until after the initial upward 1rimminent` of the bell,

This action causes the bell to rise,

and the tube 6 has been cleared of air and pure gas is freely flowing.

1 wish it to be understood that I reserve the right to use in combination with the above described devices, any form of igniter that may be koperated by the upward movement of the bell or its attached parts, the bell serving as a motor to operate the igniter.

I prefer,however, to use an electric spark producing device such as shown, which com prises an outwardly extending resilient contact wire 16 normally lying outside of the flame zone butadapted to be sprung to juxtaposition to the vent or vents 8 of the burner; a coacting contact finger 17 carried by a weighted rocking bell-crank lever 18 and connections for causing said lever to swing from one side to the other of the burner 8 `on the rise of bell 5, and establish temporary electric connection between said finger 17 and said wire 16 en route.

The wire 16 which forms one terminal of an electric circuit (not shown) is supported by a curved bracket 19 which in turn is sup ported by a clamp 20 secured to the upper end of burner 8. Lever 18 comprises a long arm 21, a short arm 22 and a horizontal bearing portion 23, which latter is mounted on ears 24 forming part of a clamp 21" secured to the burner tube 6, but insulated therefrom. The arms 21 and 22 lie on opposite sides of the burner and the finger 17 which is substantially parallel with bearing portion 23 is located so as to pass over the vents of the burner when the lever 18 is rocked `in its bearings. Y y

A second bell-crank lever comprisinga long arm 25 and a short arm .26 and bearing portion 27 is also mounted independent of the coacting contact 17 in the ears 24, as shown, the arm 26 lying beneath and supportingarm 21 of lever 18 in the unlighted condition of the lamp (see Fig. 1). Arm 25 is connected by a link 28 with a stationary part of the device, preferably a binding post 29 extending from clamp 30, secured to, but insulated from, sleeve 10. Binding post 29 is connected with one side of the electric circuit hereinbefore mentioned, but not illustrated, and supplies current through the various arms and levers just described to contact finger 17.

When bell 5 rises, arm 25 is drawn downwardly and causes arm 26 to lift arm 21, the latter swinging in the arc of a circle and carrying contact linger 17 into engagement with wire 16, completing the electric circuit and bending wire 16 in the mannerv shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The time required for finger 17 Vto reach wire 1,6 is

- sufficient for the tube 6 to be freed of air so that when said finger 17 snaps off wire16 and the spark is formed, pure asl willube flowing. Further movement o the bell device.

causes the arm 21 to swing past its pivotal center and fall by gravity to the full line position shown in Fig. 2 in which position it will be supported by the engagement of arm 22 with arm 25.

With the parts in the position shown in Fig. 2, the temporary increase in gas pressure may be removed and normal pressure resumed Without eliect on the lamp, as the Weight of the bell is insutlicient to force the gas back against such normal pressure, and the lamps Will continue to burn as long as such pressure is maintained. When it is desired to extinguish the lamps, the pressure in the mains will be lowered, whereupon the bell will drop by gravity until the opening 7 passes below the level oi' the liquid 15, when the ilow of gas to the bell Will be shut oil. rl`he remaining gas Will be forced out by the continued descent of the bell and the lamps continue to burn until opening G is covered and the seal restored. The pressure in the mains may then be raised to normal without breaking the seal or disturbing the relative arrangement of other parts of the llhen it is again required to light the lamps, the above operation will be repeated, it being understood that the descent of the bell will restore the parts of the ignition device to the position shown in Fig. l.

rlhe burner 8 may be of any construction suitable to the nature and volume of the gas used. llhere burners of very small oapacity are employed, it may be found advantageous to lit the burner-tube with a smaller inner tube leading to the burner, such as shovvn at 62 in Fig. 3, in order that the reduced quantity of air passing to the burner may have a proportionately reduced volume of air to displace before the spark is applied.

63 represents a small batlie plate attached to the lower end of tube 62 to prevent the liquid from splashing into said tube.

The function of tube or sleeve 10 is t0 guide tube 7, and so prevent bell 5 from turning axially; and also to permit the end vof supply pipe 14C to be carried high above the level of liquid l5.

lt is to be understood that, in its broader aspects, the invention is not limited to the particular construction shown and described as many changes in the details may be made Without departing from the main principles of the invention or sacrificing its chief advantages.

l claim:

An apparatus of the class described including in combination, a receptacle containing a suitable liquid, an inverted motor bell sealed in said liquid, aV gas supply pipe terminating Within said bell above the level of said liquid, a seal-tube surrounding said supply pipe and having its upper end closed and its lower end extended Within the bell to cut ofi the flow from the supply pipe to the bell of gas under low pressure but permit such lo7 of gas under high pressure, a burner tube communicating With said bell and adapted to be sealed from communication With the interior of the bell by said liquid when the flow of gas to the bell is cut oli, said liquid being common both to said seal tube and to said burner tube accurately to control the flow of gas therebetween, and an igniter operated by said bell.

ln testimony whereof, l have signed my name to this specilication, in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

CHARLES F. MASON.

l/Vitnesses z FLOYD L. RELYEA, CHARLES H. lRIsH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressing the Gommissioner of atents Washington, D. C. 

